:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/N4IC3UPLPNA7ZITRJ4IFJQBPNI.PNG)
ORLANDO, Fla. Florida saw the highest recorded number of new cases for 2021 Thursday after the Florida Department of Health reported nearly 20,000 new cases of COVID-19.
As the number of cases continues to rise, Floridians want to get a vaccine as soon as possible.
Vaccines continue to make their way to the poor of Floridians across the state. As more doses expire, Governor Ron DeSantis has called on churches and other locations to administer vaccines.
DeSantis announced changes to the state’s vaccine distribution plan on Monday, saying that hospitals should use their injections as soon as possible and partner with worship centers to help distribute the vaccine. The governor didn’t mention Publix in two press conferences on Monday, but DeSantis made the announcement on Tuesday from a Publix supermarket in Ocala.
According to Publix.com, a limited number of vaccines are “underway to select Publix pharmacies in Citrus, Hernando and Marion counties.”
According to the website, 11 Marion County locations, eight Hernando County stores, and three Citrus County locations will feature the photos.
READ MORE: Certain Publix pharmacy locations offer coronavirus vaccinations in Florida
DeSantis held multiple press conferences on Thursday and said more vaccines are on the way.
The governor said Florida is expected to receive about 250,000 new COVID-19 vaccine doses next week, which will be split about half across Moderna and Pfizer’s shots.
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports 17,000 new coronavirus cases, 130 new deaths]
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 19,473 new cases on Thursday, bringing the state’s total total to 1,429,722 cases since March.
Deaths
Florida reported 170 new virus-related deaths Thursday. This means that across the state at least 22,817 people have died in connection with the coronavirus, including 336 non-residents who died in Florida.
Hospital admissions
On Thursday there were 7,335 people with the virus have been hospitalized in Florida, according to the State Agency for Health Care Administration.
As of March 64,704 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from the coronavirus. That number includes the 383 patients recently hospitalized for the virus, according to the Health Department’s Daily Report.
Positivity rate
The percentage of positive results ranged from 8.03% to 23.28% over the past two weeks and was 11.60% Wednesday.
Health officials say the rate should stay between 5% and 10% to prove that a community has a hold on the virus and is keeping infections in check.
Vaccinations
The Florida Department of Health recently began publishing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines being administered statewide. In Florida, 384,223 people have been vaccinated since Thursday afternoon.
See COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region below:
| Province | Cases | New cases | Hospital admissions | New hospital admissions | Deaths | New deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 23,103 | 434 | 1,503 | 20 | 535 | 9 |
| Flagler | 4,154 | 75 | 243 | 4 | 48 | 0 |
| Lake | 17,228 | 331 | 1002 | 6 | 331 | 0 |
| Marion | 19,585 | 386 | 1,387 | 11 | 496 | 1 |
| Orange | 83,462 | 1,307 | 2.016 | 10 | 777 | 1 |
| Osceola | 27,569 | 456 | 1.110 | 7 | 305 | 8 |
| Polk | 40,983 | 622 | 3,403 | 14 | 821 | 7 |
| Seminole | 19,803 | 264 | 930 | 5 | 319 | 2 |
| Sumter | 5,720 | 86 | 392 | 4 | 122 | 0 |
| Volusia | 24,553 | 348 | 1,307 | 11 | 460 | 2 |
To keep up to date with the latest news about the pandemic, subscribe to News 6’s coronavirus newsletter and go to Click Orlando.com/coronavirus.
Copyright 2021 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.